Author Talk with Brenda Matthews - The Last Daughter

An unmissable First Nations memoir that tells of the shattering experience of being stolen, The Last Daughter is a story of heartbreak and healing that offers a path forward for all Australians.

When Brenda Matthews was two years old, she and her siblings were taken from their parents. For the next five years she was a much-loved daughter in a white family, a happy child in a country town on the outskirts of Sydney, unaware of the existence of her Aboriginal family or how hard her parents were fighting for her return-unaware of her Aboriginal identity.

Then, she was suddenly returned to her Aboriginal family, the last daughter to come home.

Decades later, feeling a sense of something missing in her life, Brenda searches for her foster family and her beloved white sister, with whom she had had no contact.

Along the way she uncovers long-buried secrets and government bungling, as well as a deep connection to family and to her Aboriginal culture.

The Last Daughter is the story of Brenda's journey to discover the truth about her past, to unite her two families-and to foster a better connection between black and white Australia. It's a story full of heartbreak, love, hope and healing, one that shows a way forward for all Australians.

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The City of Charles Sturt would like to acknowledge the land we occupy today is the traditional lands of the Kaurna people and that we respect their spiritual relationship with their country. We also acknowledge the Kaurna people as the custodians of the greater Adelaide region and that their cultural and heritage beliefs are still as important to the living Kaurna people today.